9.20.08

Recovery run tonight. I'm not really sure if 6 miles qualifies as recovery, but nonetheless it felt easy. I think I've been doing a good job of taking it easy on my easy days, and that has helped me feel a lot better. Before I was doing doubles, which in itself is fine, but not when you're pushing through both of them. If anything they should have been recovery pace, I'm just now starting to find out how fast (or slow) that is I think. Either way I feel in great shape already, which is good. Well actually i FEEL in great shape, but I know that I'm just scratching the surface.

Tomorrow is long run day. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's 1:40 minutes. It should be easy enough, might even make it a little longer. Oh I changed my average pace from 7:30 to 8. I think I was giving myself a little too much credit before. I'd rather run longer for the same miles anyway. I'm really trying to get the maximum amount of time out there, so I think it's a good idea. So I'll probably make tomorrows run around 104 minutes, so that it's an even 13 miles. I'm going to keep increasing to about 15 miles, then hold that for a few weeks before adding a mile. Rinse and repeat until my hill phase and by then I should be up to 18-19. After that I plan on doing a marathon before the year is out - just as a long run not an actual race. I think that will definitely get me in the right mindset for the winter holidays.

Hill phase is over rather quickly, only 3 weeks there. - although technically I plan on doing some hills before the actual hill phase begins- Then it's all speedwork for a good 2.5 - 3 months. That'll be awesome and all kinds of gains are going to be made there. Basically I'll be running mile repeats (with rest) at 5:30-6:00 pace. So yeah that WILL be awesome.

6:58pm, home, 73 degrees cool
48:35, bf 476

9.19.08

A nice recovery run tonight. Went ahead and added an extra mile or so, since the pace was a bit slower. Legs were pretty beat up from the run yesterday, but mostly just my left shin. Definitely need to put some ice on that.

Run went fine other than the little aches, wasn't much aerobically, but of course it's better than nothing. Another poodle chased me, of course dragging it's leash behind it. I love just jogging and them not being able to catch me. The pugs that live in that area are more determined and faster too, haha.

These runs haven't been difficult at all, but I'm going to keep grinding them out just the same. I need a huge base going, and injury free when I start doing my harder workouts. That's really the only thing keep coming back to is keeping my legs fresh. I didn't do any accelerations tonight, I didn't want to flare up the shin any more than it is.

Almost had a mural job, but it turned out that the person didn't want to pay my minimum. I guess they had a "friend' that was going to do it for about half the price. It sucks to turn down money, but it's my job and I can't work for free. Maybe if I knew them or something I'd cut them a deal, but it just wasn't worth my time. There will be more jobs soon enough. My mural is almost done! I have maybe one more day just to add some details and refine, but to the average person they would think it's finished.

guess that's all.

6:39pm, home,
57:36, bf 470

9.18.08

Getting fit. Being in shape is a good thing. My runs are already getting easier and the miles and minutes are adding up pretty easily. My only concern is injuries. I don't see how professional athletes deal with it. I mean you get hurt and bam you're set back for months. So I'm trying my best to push myself, but not too far. It's a thin line.

Tonight was great. Started off real slow and then picked it up as the run went along. I've been pretty good about taking it easy the first mile or two and letting my muscles get warm before going a little faster. I was at the soccer complex tonight. It was good because there are games going on there all the time. I like having other people there, just any movement breaks the monotony. I know that won't last much longer. Once November and December roll around there will be no one in sight.

Really got going there towards the end. My breathing is good, but not great yet. I still have plenty of aerobic training to do. It's getting easier to run, but at the same time it's a bad thing. It's bad because it means running further on my middle/long distance runs, and that puts more pressure on my legs. I know I could do other things that have the benefit, but running miles just seems like the best way to get results. I guess I can always take it slow and add a few extra miles, but again that line draws near when you do stuff like that. All the same I had 75 minutes for tonight, but ended up with 80. I sort of recalculated my average pace and I think it's closer to 8, so I think running an extra few minutes should just about negate that.

Legs felt kind of tired actually tonight, at least for the first two or three miles. I didn't really have any pain other under my right big toe. It was more of a nagging than a pain, but I guess i should note that in case it gets worse.

6:30, soccer complex, 78 degrees.
1:21:01, bf 463

9.17.08

Well just 3 and a half weeks away from the 5k. I am totally not prepared for it, and I know I won't be PR'ing or anything, but it will be fun. I remember the course from last year and it's pretty fast considering its downtown. The good part is it starts going the opposite direction from the Covenant Health race, which is totally hilly and just tough.

Last year we got there late, well sort of late. I tried to make my way to the front, but never did and ended up getting a delayed start. It was just for fun so it didn't matter. I didn't even have a timing chip, but it did make my run harder because I was dodging and weaving. This year I'll have to make sure to be toward the front. I have a timing chip so that's good just in case something should happen I'll still have an accurate time.

Today was recovery day. I keep saying my calf is what hurts, but it's not really the calf itself. It's more the shinbone I guess. Pain is such a hard thing to describe, especially when you're trying to just write where it is. I can't just point to it and say, right THERE. So anyway it was doing fine until I did my accelerations at the end. That's when it started it's thing. I put some ice on it tonight, and will keep doing that until it goes away for good. Right now it's off and on. So yeah, recovery run was actually quite fun. I didn't have to work to hard and just sort of jogged along and felt good. It was nice not having to push. It reminded me that sometimes and a lot of times it's okay to slack off and take it easy.

6:42 pm, home, sunny
46:00, bf 455

9.16.08

Creaky. I'm not sure if thats a correct adjective, but I really felt that way on the run tonight. Things were just sore in weird places and I never really felt smooth. Maybe it was a change in shoes. I think it may have also been from the harder run yesterday (knew I should have slowed) and the accelerations.

But all the same I felt fast. A good 9 miles I would say, maybe a little less. I want to get a garmin for christmas. I might even get the new one, it looks the least dorky and may have a better receiver for the gps signal. It looks like a watch in comparison to the model I was thinking about getting.

http://www.hitechwireless.com/images/Garmin305.jpg

http://gpsdock.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/garmin-405.png

Haha, I guess thats just one more techno thing to add to the running gear. It'll be nice to know what the real miles I'm running are though. I will admit running for time has been easier. I tend to slow down when I feel "it" just enough to get my reserves back, then I can get back on pace. Running for time also seems easier somehow. I guess it's that you have the goal set, and you know you can push just that little bit extra to get there. Today I set it for 75 minutes, which was a little longer than my daily run usually is. For a while I was like, okay I'll just run 65 minutes, or 70, then be done because that's enough. But there is this little voice inside that says "why not just go all the way" and once you hear it, just about any time would be possible.

ah i just passed my old nike sensor that had to be replaced.

new sensor

5:53 pm SC, party cloudy 75 degrees.
1:15:45, gm 468

9.15.08

I was surprised as I wasn't sore from my long run. Of course the calf had it's normal thing going on, no need repeating myself there; it's just a lingering twinge now. I felt really good running. Nice turnover and breathing wasn't too hard even though I was probably going a little faster than I should have. This run felt like it was over before it started. It's amazing how those long runs have such quick and direct results! I'm just amazed by the difference. Of course I have also been running consistently so that has it's part too.

I did two accelerations after my run, maybe 50 yards long. There is a nice little straightaway beside my house, so it's a great spot for doing this kind of thing. I'm feeling really confident right now about my goal time. I feel like I'm in really good shape already, so as long as I can keep it going I know there are huge improvements on the horizon.

5:47pm, home, 72 degrees
43:08, bf 449

9.14.08

Yay, long run day.

Church was pretty good this morning. We go to a group that actually meets before church and it's sort of like a bible study/marriage builder type of deal. It's actually supposed to be the marriage thing, but it ends up being more like a bible study to me. Anywho things are changing up due to the leadership wanting it to be more focused on the whole marriage thing. It's kind of funny because no one really wants that. So our group might get split up, but for the next four weeks every group is doing the same thing - which is study the series our pastor is teaching. It's a good idea, but our group was actually just starting to click.

So that was good, the bad part was being starved through that, and then through church. Mercedes has this thing where likes to meow at random times during the night. It's not just a meow though, it's like a mrrrrrrAAAAAAAWWW!, over and over. So I had to get up and "lock" her in the laundry room. Now this doesn't sound bad, but you have to understand I'm a light sleeper. It takes me an hour EVERY night to go to sleep. So once I got up my metabolism started and I was hungry. I had already went to sleep late because I watched SNL, so I'd only slept maybe 3 or 4 hours, another thing that kills me. So i grabbed a plum and drank some water. Then I went back to sleep or tried to for a half hour. By the time I was back to sleep it was time to get up for church. So I didn't have any time to eat a real breakfast and was starved.

Long story, but at least the day turned around at church. We went out to eat, which is custom now on Sunday not because it's a nice thing to do, but because it saves on gas having to go out some other time. Me not having a job has really, really put a pinch on our spending. It's not like teachers get paid much anyway, but now that's not even happening so it's basically like being poor.

So we had a good lunch and I loaded up on my carbs. I had a nap, then it was time to get ready for the one and half hours of running. I was kind of worried because storm clouds were hovering, and it had been super windy all day. I was more worried about the wind. The run started off normal enough. I went super slow, as advised, and before I knew it I had my half hour in, a third of the way done. I was sweating good, despite no sun and the wind whipping me here and there. About halfway through, some dude just blows by me. I was going to chase him, but he turned off the track and went down the road to who knows where. If this guy was on his long run, then props to him for keeping that pace. I wasn't really that far back, but he put a pretty good distance on me. Even if he would have kept running on the track I wouldn't have caught him. Of course he might have just only run a mile or two, where I was already there almost an hour.

Anyway that got my blood pumping, and feeling pretty good I picked up the pace. With 20 minutes left I started to get a side stitch or something, maybe it was lungs hurting or my heart, not real sure but it was in that general area. I also had the famous shoulder pain. It's a funny pain that has nothing to do with your shoulder muscles, but it feels like someone is digging their finger into a pressure point there. I guess it has something to do with the nervous system trying to get you to stop your foolish running. But I stuck it through, and surprisingly I put in a half hour more than I've run since starting back. It also helped that it started sprinkling randomly. That cooled me down a little and kept my motivation up.

So that was a definite positive. The other good thing was the day off helped my calf and it didn't hurt at all today.
Whew, that was a huge entry, but I think you're almost all caught up :-)

windy, sprinkles
4:45pm, Sc
1:30:05, bf 444

9.13.08

day off as scheduled.

9.12.08

Things are really going well. I might even have a mural job soon. April saw it and contacted them, so I dunno, something might happen, seemed like a small job but I'll take it.

Running went well today. I am really trying to follow Galloway's advice and take easier days, so today was only about 40 minutes I think. I just took it real easy. The calf thing is still there kinda, so it makes sense to run a little easier. Tomorrow is another easy day too. Then I have a long run. I'm going for an hour and half, at least that's my goal. It will be super slow I'm guessing, but that is fine. In my plan I want to build to 2 hours and hold that for my long run until my hill phase. Once I reach that, the long run will keep increasing until I reach around 5 hours, which if everything works the way I plan, will be three weeks before my marathon. It will be tight. I know 7 months sounds like a long time, but it's really not for a full training pyramid.


6:15pm, home
35:19, bf 443

9.11.08

A good run tonight. We went out to eat at a mexican restaurant tonight when April got home. So I didn't really overeat, but when you have to run in a matter of hours, eating anything isn't so good. April loves eating early, obviously I don't. It makes the first 15 minutes of my run pretty uncomfortable. I might just start having to eat separate or something, because she doesn't like eating late. She eats lunch at like 11:30 in the morning anyway so it makes it even worse. I don't know why she does that though as she can take her lunch anytime during the day. But whatever I'm not that controlling.

So the run started off pretty miserable with sloshing and just feeling like I was going to puke. I was going to jog a mile, but because I was in distress I was already jogging just trying to keep my legs moving. So by about three or four the stomach had settled just a little and things started to get moving. Halfway through the run I could see storm clouds moving in. They eventually did and I was expected, even hoping for, a complete downfall. I was so sweaty and hot it would have been nice, but only a few short-lived sprinkles fell. It got dark and the soccer games that were going on ended, so I was running by a lot of cars. It was good though, pace was not too fast. Definitely had that "refreshing" feeling while running, getting a nice easy knee lift.

The calf felt really good today. I iced it last night, so I think that helped a whole lot. It was just a little tingly here and there, but feels much better than it did. Looks like I'll be doing that from now. It also helped I got some wrap, so I don't have to sit and hold the ice down like I have in the past.

78 degrees, 66% humid
7:35, Sc
1:01:01, bf 438

9.10.08

Just a run around the neighborhood tonight. I worked on my schedule today. Things are looking okay, but i wish I had about an extra week or two. I might have to cut a few things out of the plan I'm wanting to use. But for the most part everything lines up pretty well. I might just end up cutting some of my base off- just a week or two, which could actually be made up for with long runs. I still have some tweaking to do, but the basics are there.

Tonight's run was good. Calf was still a little bothersome, but only now and then. Felt really good on this run, legs felt real fresh and responsive. I had forgotten what that was like when I was running those 70 mile weeks. So I took it easy tonight. Actually I'll be taking a lot more easy days - which in turn should lead to recovery and a lot more hard days too. Kind of cool how that works. So just 45 minutes tonight, which was an even two loops without the huge hill. Breathing was real good, but it was later so there was no real heat.

I had to cut down my dinner as we didn't eat till 6:30. I just had a real small portion of everything so it would at least be somewhat digested before my run. I didn't have any stomach pains or anything like that so I guess it worked.

Okay going to work on my schedule some more. Then I have to get to sleep, I'm trying to get a big chunk of the mural done, and it's coming along real nice. Maybe by this weekend I'll have everything covered and can put some details in and finally be done!

7:45pm, home
46:33, bf 430

needing an update

Well I was looking at how bad I am at updating the running log on freewebs, so i think I want to try something different.

I am either going to make my own- I know a little web design from college so that could work at least aesthetically. It doesn't need to be that much anyway.

Or I could go the simpler route and just create a table. i kind of like the table idea because it will be quick. it won't look very pretty, but at least it will be organized.

just something blog related, so I figured I would add that.

9.9.08

Rainy day today. I think it's from all the hurricanes. I wasn't sure about the run today. I cooked dinner for April, and she ended up having to stay a little later at work. So we didn't eat till 6 instead of 5:30. Not a big difference, unless you want to run before it's dark, of course. So my stomach didn't feel good at 7:30 at all. The first few miles was no picnic.

But like usual it wore off after a while. This run was great for 2 reasons, and bad for 1. The first was that the sun was already setting, and it was cloudy anyway so it was cool. The second was that it had rained all day so it was even cooler and the humidity made it easy on the lungs. The bad part was my left calf thing still hurt, so I couldn't run as far as I wanted to. It comes and goes it seems. I'm thinking that on Friday/Saturday I'll take it really, really, really easy running and then it should be good for Sunday. But that is just hope.

So tonights run was good. At a half hour I was like okay, I can make it another mile. Then I got there, said the same thing, and did that a few more times and finished at just over an hour. That is great! The more hours I get in the better. It was a pretty nonchalant run. I spent most of it thinking about my goals for my big race, and the rest of it just enjoying running through the cool mist.

7:30, Sc
1:01:56, bf 424

9.8.08

Pretty much died today. I didn't get to update anything other than the date. I was sooo tired. I put in an hour or something like that. I can't even remember anything except it being hot and me being tired.

7:15, Sc
1:01:01, bf 416

9.7.08

Saturday I didn't get to run. We went to visit our friends from church who have a newborn baby. They live in our neighborhood. They cooked us dinner, but for the most part we just talked about their baby and our jobs. Gosh I'm such a grown up now. What ever happened to staying up late and playing video games. So not running was actually a good thing because we got to hang out, and it gave my calf some time to rest.

Tonight I set the bar a little too high. Everything went well, but it was too early for a "long" run. The heat was just overwhelming and pretty much I was dying around 4 miles even though I went out pretty slow. Did figure eight loops which was bad as it mean't long slow up hill through the middle section and that wore me out quick. I guess the good thing is the calf isn't hurting anymore, but I think it helped I wore my other pair shoes too.

5:30 sc
49:13, GM 458

9.5.08

Calf/shin still hurts. Not sure if it's shinsplints or not, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Took it easy, but still got the miles in. Stomach hurt at the beginning, but i think I overloaded on water before I left. I knew I would sweat a lot so I figured it would be better to drink a lot. It went away after almost a mile, and thing were back to normal.

7:10, sc
45:37, bf 408

9.4.08

Inside of the left calf (against the bone) was hurting pretty good tonight. But I felt too good not to run. For some reason it was cool, probably a lot to do with that I went later than usual. Normally it's hot and I'm dying, but when it cooled down just a bit I was back in the groove. It's amazing how a "small" thing like heat can affect the body so dramatically. So tonight was my farthest run since my time off- 7 miles.

Now usually my breathing is horrible, I feel like I'm going to die and I'm just trying to finish a run alive without my chest exploding. Tonight was much different where everything was working seemingly effortless for the most part. I don't think I'm in any better shape- I know it was the weather/time, but it gives me hope for a fall 5k or two.

Thu 7:15, sc
1:03:56, bf 402

9.3.08

Yesterday was a day off. My inside left calf was a little sore so I gave it some recovery, plus I'm just getting back so there's no real need to overdo things. Tonight was a pretty good run. One mile jog, then three more picking it up a little, and a cooldown mile. Even these slow paces are difficult though. Breathing isn't as easy as it once was when I was doing 10 milers with no problems. But at least I'm out there. The hip has been feeling fine. I haven't done the pressure test, but it doesn't hurt when I'm running or really any other time so I think I'm in the clear at least for now.

wed 6:45 sc
51:19, bf 394

9.2.08 good, great, grand, wonderful

Sorry about the title. If you want to know about it, just watch the movie Billy Madison and you will understand.

ALL my runs are finally on nikeplus!! yeay. First I couldn't any uploaded, then just one, and after a few more hours of looking through a billion of pages of crap and some good ideas, some more bad ideas...I finally found the solution.

Today was a hot run. Will add more tomorrow. I just want to get it in before it turns to tomorrow. -- Okay well as far as I can remember this run was in the heat of the day at home. Nothing exciting, but it felt good to be done with this one.

Mon 4:00, hm
total time 42:01, bf 388

9.1.08

back on track...... mostly

Ok first I have to backtrack a little. I'm not real sure what I did the past few days. I've been pretty bad about keeping track of it, and days start to mesh together rather quickly when that happens. I'll have to check my ipod for the dates and miles, and there was one day I forgot it. I guess I'll just start with that and kind of fill in.

Sat 7:15, sc
total time 47:30, gf 161

Fri 5:50, hm
total time 37:23, gm 452

Thu 6:23, sc
total time 47:12, gf 155

Wed 6:30, sc
15-20:00, bf 383